Automatic feed line cutoff and drain for oil burners



1954 D. E. PRESSEY ET AL 2,667,215

AUTOMATIC FEEDLj-NE CUTOFF AND DRAIN FOR on. BURNERS Filed June 20, 19502 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 26, 1954 PRESSEY ET AL 2,667,215

AUTOMATIC FEED LINE CUTOFF AND DRAIN FOR OIL BURNERS Fild June 20, 19502 Sheets-Sheet 2 2Q FC'Q.

1 I a, I o x as 56 a g g 16 as 16 60 L53? -fi 9 I r IN VENTORS J MConley. 11E .Pressey D BY Known Patented Jan. 26, 1954 AUTOMATIC FEEDLINE CUTOFF AND DRAIN FOR OIL BURNERS Donald E. Pressey, Stillwater, andJoseph M. Conley, Orono, Maine Application June 20, 1950, Serial No.169,154

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved oil burner feed system and moreparticularly to a novel automatic feed line cut-off and drain especiallysuitable for use in conjunction with range burners and the like.

As is well known, the safe operation of a type of range burnerprevalently in use requires that the oil level in the burner bowl shallnot exceed a certain height, while flooding of the bowl involves adefinite fire hazard.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to .provide a safetydevice wherein, if for any reason the burner bowl should become floodedwith oil, the supply of oil to the burner will be automatically cut off.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device wherein as excessoil becomes present in the burner bowl, such excess oil will be drainedtherefrom into the safety device, and wherein, after the oil in thesafety device reaches a given level, said device will be automaticallyactuated to shut off the supply of oil to the burner.

And the invention seeks, as a still further object, to provide a safetydevice wherein, after the supply of oil to the burner has been shut off,the oil feed line extending between the device and the burner as well asthe burner bowl will be drained of the oil therein.

Other and incidental objects of the invention will appear during thecourse of the following description thereof; and in the drawings:

Figure l is a diagrammatic sectional view showing our improved safetydevice installed.

Figure 2 is a vertical section showing the device set.

Figure 3 is a vertical section showing the device tripped.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail section showing the plunger set.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail section showing the plunger set.

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view particularly showing the floatlever and trigger bracket.

Referring now more particularly to Figure l of the drawings, we haveshown a conventional range at 8. Mounted therein is a stand 9 whichcarries burners in each including a bowl I l. The structural details ofthe burners are not especially important. A conventional fuel tank isshown' at l2, said tank being arranged near the range 8, and mounted ata point between the tank and range is a valve unit l3 including ametering valve I 4 for each of the burners I0. The unit 13 isconventionally shown.

As seen in Figures 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings, our improved safetydevice includes an oblong casing [5 at one end of which is a floatchamber 16, while at the other end of the casing is a plunger chamberIT, and closing the casing is a removable cover [8' which, between saidchambers, carries an inspection plate I 9. The plate [9 is freelyremovable to permit access to the casing.

At one side thereof, the float chamber I6 is provided with a nipple 29,and removably secured to said chamber at the upper end thereof is a cap2| which carries a shut-off valve fitting 22. Clamped between the cap.2| and the float chamber is a pliable diaphragm 23 which closescommunication between said chamber and the cap, and fixed to saiddiaphragm is a shut-off valve 24 which extends through the cap 2i intothe fitting 22 to coact with the valve seat of said fitting. Fixed tothe lower end of the stem of the valve is a collar 25, and it is now tobe noted that the fioat chamber i6 is provided at the lower end thereofwith a drain plug 26.

Extending into the plunger chamber I? at its upper end, as particularlyseen in Figure 5 of the drawings, is a plunger barrel 21 which is fixedto the cover, I8, and freely slidable through the upper end wall of saidbarrel is a plunger 28. At its upper end, the plunger is equipped with anut 29 which provides a knob for the plunger, and formed on the plungeris a head 30 terminating in a shoulder 3|. Extending downwardly from thehead is a tapered prong 32 having a piercing tip 33, and surrounding theupper'end portion of the plunger within the barrel 2? is a spring 34pressing downwardly upon the plunger. Formed in the lower end of thebarrel at one side thereof is a vertical slot 35, and fixed to the head30 of the plunger is a pin 36 extending freely through said slot.

Fixed to the lower end of the barrel 21 at a right angle to the slot 35,as more particularly seen in Figure 7 of the drawings, is a sheet metalbracket 37 having. an upper pair of ears 3B and a lower pair of cars 39.Pivoted between the upper pair of ears 38, as particularly seen inFigure 6 of the drawings, is a trigger M1, the upper end of which isadapted to engage beneath the shoulder 3| of the head 33 of the plunger28 for hold-. ing the plunger retracted in set position, and pressingthe trigger to coact with the plunger is a bowed spring 4i disposedbehind the lower en portion of the trigger.

Fixed to one side wall of the casing |5,.as particularly seen in Figure4 of the drawings, is a post 42, and pivoted upon said post is a valvelever .43. 'At one end, the lever 43 is provided with a fork 44 whichfreely straddles the collar of the valve 24 to coact therewith, andformed on the lever at its opposite end is a yoke 45 having an arcuateslot G5 which freely receives the pin of the plunger 28. Thus, as seenin Figure 3 of the drawings, when the trigger is released and theplunger 28 is shifted downwardly by the spring 3 2, the lever 53 will berocked to move the Valve 24 upwardly to closed position in engagementwith its seat. However, as the travel of the plunger is greater than thetravel of the valve, the slot i5 is provided in the yoke of the lever 43to permit the pin 35 to move down with the plunger the length of theslot before actuating the lever to close the Valve 2 Furthermore, it

is to be noted that at any time after the trigger it is tripped and thevalve 2d is closed, the mechanism may be reset simply by grasping thenut 2e and pulling the plunger 28 upwardly until the trigger snaps underthe shoulder 31. The lever 33 will, of course, be coincidentally rockedto return the valve 2-3 to open position.

Fixed to the bottom wall of the casing I5 at the'lower end of thechamber 67, as particularly seen in Figure 5 of the drawings, is anipple G6, the lower end portion of which provides a-chamher 4?, andformed on the nipple at the upper end of said chamber is 'an internalannular shoulder 53. Screwed into the nipple is a fol-- lower d9,and'clamped between the follower and the shoulder 38 is'a frangible disknormally closing the chamber d? with respect to the cham ber 11. Asbroughtout in Figure 3, the tip 33 should become flooded with oil,excess on in said bowls will be'imm'ediately drained off through i thepipes at and 6! to the float chamber I6. The

float 55 will thus be caused to rise, with the result thatth'eiever't'e' will be rocked to release the trigger it and trip the plunger28. Consequently,

V the plunger will be snapped downwardly by the spring 34 to rupture thedisk 50, while the lever of the plunger 28 will, when the trigger it istripped and the plunger is snapped downwardly bythe spring 3E,puncture'the disk 5'llto'establish communication between the chambers l!and I1. Normally closing 'the'nip'ple "46 "at its lower end is a plug 5|which may be manually removed to expose the follower '49, afterwhich'the follower may be removed to free the 'disk5fi 'sothat, afterthe disk hasb'een ruptured, a new disk maybe readily substituted in lieuthereof. Fixed to the nipple 5 at one side thereof'isapipe-con'neoti'o'n 52 communicating "with the chamber '41 of thenipple. v

Pivotedbetween the pair of ears 39of "the bracket 3'? is a floatl'ev'e'r'53 extending at 'one end into the chamber It; and freelyreceived in said chamber is a float 54wh'ich is provided at its upperside witha loop 55 accommodating the lever therethrough for connectingthefloa't'with said lever. At its opposite en'd,"the"lever"53 isprovided with a cam-head 56 disposed to 'c'oact with the lower 'l'ldportion Of the trigger 3B. As

will be 'perceived,"rise of the float in the chamber 15 will rock thehead 56 downwardly to press the trigger out of engagement with theshoulder 31 of the plunger 28 and thus "trip the trigger and free theplunger. 7

Referring new again to Figure 1 0f thedfawings, a'pipe'ET connects thetank lf2'with the valve fitting 22, and leading from said "fitting 'tothe valve unit 13 'is'a pipe '58, -while pipes 59 connect the meteringvalves Hi with the burner bowls 'l I. Thus, oil will 'normally'flow bygravity'from' the tank l2through'the pipes 51 and 58 to the valve unitIt, and thence, under control of the valves l Lthr'ough 'the p'ipes'fifi"to the burner bowls ll. Leading from the burner'b'owls H are overflowpipes 66, and connecting the pipes 60 with the nipple '26 of the floatchamber 16 is a pipe 5|, the pipes sfl and 5! being adapted-todrain-excess oil in the burner bowls into the float chamber. The'exactmanner of connection :of the pipes 6% 43 "will'berocked to close thevalve 24 and shut off the supply of oil to the burner bowls H.

Since at the time the shut-off valve '24 is closed, the disk 5!! isruptured, oil remaining in' th'e burner bowls I I will drain backthrough the pipes 59, the valve unit I3, pipe '58,and pipe 62 'fiHtO'the chamber 41 of the nipple it and thence'into the casing 15. Thecapacity ofthe casing" is sufiicient to hold all of the excess 'oilremaining in the burner bowls, as Well as the oil in the pipes 59, valveunit 13, and a portion ofthe pipeefi, so that not only will theburnerbowls {ll be drained of excess oil, but also' the oil feed line itselfwill be drained of oil back to the point of connection of the pipe 62with the pipe '58, As' will be observed, the pipes Stand 59 are inclineddownwardly away from the burner bowlsj To reset the deviceflthe p'lug 26is 'removed'and the casing l5 drained of oil. I 'The plunger "28 is thenlifted until the trigger d0 snaps underthe shoulder 3! of the plunger,thus opening thevalve 2 1. The plug 5| and follower" 49 are then"re-'moved and a new disk substituted for the disk5fl, following which theplug 26, follower '49, and plu 5i are replaced.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a feed system for an oil burner, anoil supply tank a feed linearranged'to conduct oil from'the tank to the burner,ashut-off'dejvicefineluding a shut-oil valve interposed'in the feedline, an overflow line extending betv eeii "the burner-and said deviceand arranged todrai'n excess oil' from the burner into saiddevice,'valveclosing means carried by said device and'oper- 'ativelyconnected with's'aid valve, 'said'valve-clps in; means being adaptedtobe set and'b'eih'gioperable when released to force said valve closedand having a portiondisposed to be grasped for manually actuating saidmeans when re'leased'to open and close said valve, and float operatedmeans mounted in said device and'o'perab'leby the rise of the'level ofoil therein 'forrele'as'ing said valve-closing means, said closingineanswhen released being movable to close" said valve withoutdisturbing the position of said float operated means and said floatoperated means being adapted to maintain said closing means releasedfor'free manual manipulationto open and close said valve while theposition of said float open ated means remains undisturbed, I

2. In a feed system for an" oil burner, an oil supply tank, a feed linearranged to conductoil from the tank to the burner, a'shut 'ofi'devic'eineluding a shut-off valveinterposed in thefee'd line, anoverflow line extending between the burner and said device and arrangedto drain exclosing means carried by-x'said device and -operativelyconnected with said valve, said valve-010s ing means being adapted to beset and being operable when released to close said valve, means mountedin said device and operable by the rise of the level of oil therein forreleasing said valveclosing means, a branch line extending between saidfeed line and said device, closure-means mounted in said device andnormally blocking said branch line, and puncturing-means carried by saidvalve-closing means and operable thereby whenreleased for rupturing saidclosure-means to permit drainage through said branch line of oil fromthe burner and a portion of said feed line into said device.

3. A safety device for oil burners including a casing adapted forconnection with a burner bowl to receive excess oil draining from saidbowl into the casing, a shut-01f valve carried by the casing and adaptedto be interposed in a feed line supplying said bowl with oil, springactuated valveclosing means mounted upon the casing and operativelyconnected with said valve, said means being adapted to be set and beingmovable when released to force said valve closed and having a portiondisposed to be grasped for manually actuating said means when releasedto open and close said valve, trigger-means mounted within the casing tocoact with said closing means and normally holding said closing meansset, and float operated means mounted within the casing to coact withsaid trigger-means and operable to actuate said trigger-means andrelease said closing means for movement to close said valve, saidclosing means when released being movable to close said valve withoutdisturbing the position of said float operated means and said floatoperated means being adapted to hold said trigger-means in actuatedposition freeing said closing means for manual manipulation to open andclose said valve while the position of said float operated means remainsundisturbed.

4. A safety device for oil burners including a casing adapted forconnection with a burner bowl to receive excess oil draining from saidbowl into the casing, a shut-off valve carried by the casing and adaptedto be interposed in a feed line sup plying said bowl with oil, springactuated valveclosing means mounted upon the casing and operativelyconnected with said valve, said means being adapted to be set,trigger-means mounted within the casing to coact with said closing meansand normally holding said closing means set, float operated meansmounted within the casing to coact with said trigger-means and operableto actuate said trigger-means and release said closing means formovement to close said valve,

means carried by the casing to accommodate a branch line connecting saidfeed line with the casing, closure-means mounted Within the casing andnormally blocking said branch line, and puncturing means carried by saidvalve-closing means and operable thereby when released for rupturingsaid closure-means to permit drainage through said branch line of oilfrom the burner bowl and a portion of said feed line into the casmg.

5. A safety device for oil burners including a casing adapted forconnection with a burner bowl to receive excess oil draining from saidbowl into the casing, a shut-01f valve carried by the casing and adaptedto be interposed in a feed line supplying said bowl with oil, a springactuated plunger mounted upon the casing and adapted to be set, atrigger pivoted adjacent said plunger and normally holding the plungerset, a lever pivoted sition of said float operated means and saidfloatoperated means being adapted to hold said trigger actuated and free theplunger for manual manipuation to open and close said valve while theposition of said float operated means remains undisturbed.

6. A safety device for oil burners including a casing adapted forconnection with a burner bowl to receive excess oil draining from saidbowl into' the casing, a shut-ofi valve carried by the casing andadapted to be interposed in a feed line supplying said bowl with oil, aspring actuated plunger mounted upon the casing and adapted to be set, atrigger pivoted adjacent said plunger and normally holding the plungerset, a lever pivoted within the casing and operatively connecting saidplunger with the valve, said lever being operable by the plunger whenreleased to close the valve, float operated means mounted within thecasing to coact with said trigger and operable for actuating the triggerand releasing said plunger, means carried by the casing to accommodate abranch line connecting said feed line with the casing, a frangible diskmounted within the casing and normally blocking said branch line, andpuncturing means carried by said plunger and operable thereby whenreleased for rupturing said disk to permit drainage of oil from theburner bowl and a portion of said feed line through said branch lineinto the casing.

7. A safety device for oil burners including a casing adapted forconnection with a burner bowl to receive excess oil draining from saidbowl into the casing, a shut-oil valve carried by the casing and adaptedto be interposed in a feed line supplying said bowl with oil, a springactuated plunger mounted upon the casing and adapted to be set, atrigger pivoted adjacent said plunger and normally holding the plungerset, a lever pivoted within the casing and operatively connected at oneend with said valve, said lever being provided at its opposite end witha yoke having a slot therein, a pin carried by the plunger and receivedin said slot for rocking the lever and closing said valve when theplunger is released, said slot accommodating a travel of the plungergreater than the travel of the valve, and float operated means mountedwithin the casing to coact wtih said trigger and operable for actuatingthe trigger and releasing said plunger.

8. A safety device for oil burners including a casing adapted forconnection with a burner bowl to receive excess oil draining from saidbowl into the casing, a shut-01f valve carried by the casing and adaptedto be interposed in a feed line supplying said bowl with oil, a springactuated plunger mounted upon the casing and adapted to be set, atrigger pivoted adjacent said plunger and normally holding said plungerset, means operatively connecting the plunger with said valve andoperable by the plunger when released for closing said valve, and afloat operated lever pivoted within the casing and provided with acamhead tdicoaet wiizh the trigger fgractuat n me trigger and-releasing:s'aid plunger.

9r A- safety-device for oil burners, inqlpding a cas'ing'adapged forconneotion with a. burner to receive excess oil draining from thg burnerinto thecasing a shut-01f valve-carried :by the ogging and ada-ptedtobeinterpossddn a: feed: line sugfr y n "t bur with 0 1, a: sprin 'vactuiied plunggr mountedo upon t e aasing andoadapted o be setmeansnormall-y holding the plunge; set,

man -operatively connectin the phan er with said: valye andropergblexbyhe plunger whenro: eased to force Said valve closed; float; Qoerafimmeansmountesi t0 coact with said. first; men,-

tioned meansv for actuating the same and rgleas: 15 'in said plun er..a. n pple fixed to th 'oasin and adapted to accommodate a branchlmeoonnectg ing'sa d feed l ne wi-thw e casin a a an ible d mountedi in1 said am l and n9rmal1x-121qQi s: said branch v line, a remgya pleiflqygep my ablein said nipp e to fi s-a aid 9 9 n911= m he d sk. im osion nd :4 ron i151-=b r nsi Qfsaid p unger anqqaewh wmq p un e when relaexl' o -r t fin 55 @filai permit-draina e f o mn in? om r 11. 5 2 9?easing.

oig sznws ificd in the, fi e Q1 11 9mm UNITED STATES PAT rps,

